Archives for posts with tag: amsterdam

Bagels & Beans usually has high standards for their espresso beverages, resulting in high rankings and even a winning position in the yearly national Algemeen Dagblad coffee tests. This branch certainly does not live up to these expectations. The foam was full of bubbles and cold, and the espresso watery, thereby disappearing in the milk with a non-pleasant after-taste. To mark something positive: although they did ‘decorate’ the cappuccino with cacao sprinkled over it, the amount of cacao was very limited.

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As usual at Coffee Company, this place is nicely decorated, has an hour of free wifi use and the coffee is near to almost acceptable. However, it’s a shame my cappuccino was served in a paper cup, even though I’ve clearly stated I would not take it out. The group of chattering teens that sat down next to me after a while, was annoying enough to keep me from working, but sitting in the sun next to an open window on the first floor, I can’t actually complain about any of that.

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Mockamore is one of those places that looks promising from the outside. There’s been given good thought to the interior design, and you could even buy your own home-use espresso machine, although I think it’s more a piece of decoration than an actual sales item; I’d rather go to a specialist store when I’m spending a large amount of money on such a device.
But, as soon as you get your cappuccino here, you notice it’s all nothing but an attempt to trick you into thinking they know what they’re doing. After scooping the foamed, UHT milk onto the espresso, which was poured into a paper cup, as there aren’t any real cups available, you will find the milk hiding any and all coffee tastes with its flat taste, leaving no more than what I would describe as ‘a hint of coffee’ in the drink. And, all of that, for a price that’s above average.
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Lungoccino on the Ferdinand Bolstraat, very near to the famous Albert Cuyp market, is a small and cozy locality, which seems still uninfluenced by the larger coffee companies, which is a big plus. It’s awfully quiet, though, but that might be caused by the time of my visit: 4 pm, which isn’t a normal time to drink coffee.

The coffee’s nicely appetizing, without funny or after tastes, although the milk has a few larger bubbles in it and tastes somewhat flat. Adding things up, I can only say this is surely a place to remember, when you’re in the neighborhood, that is.

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The Espressofabriek, which translates to ‘espresso factory’, is situated in ‘cultural hotspot’ of Amsterdam ‘Westergasfabriek’, an old industrial complex which now has been transformed to host an array of cultural activities. Well-funded cultural activities, that is. The entire area seems to have been organized by and ordered from the Amsterdam authorities.

The Espressofabriek isn’t anything different from that. The building looks slick both from the outside as from the inside. On the menu you’ll find nearly every espresso variety you might wish for, including a couple of ‘wrong’ espressos, which are the ones with syrups.

I’ve tried their espresso and cappuccino, which were both good. It seems they’re especially keen on true espresso drinks, though, as their bean is better suited for espresso than it is for cappuccino. Although it has the necessary bitter tones, it’s mostly a sweet and smooth espresso. Great for espressos, but not really suitable for cappuccino’s, as the flavors aren’t strong enough to survive the milk, which is a pity. A stronger bean for their milk-based drinks would be more than welcome.

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At the edge of Amsterdam’s city centre, this place always seems to be crowded. The espresso is being made with a lever-operated espresso machine, which always gives me the feeling they’re actually preparing your espresso, rather than simply pushing a button, even though the grinding and tamping is actually the part that makes most of the difference. The cappuccino tastes excellent, although it does have a strong and slightly bitter after-taste. Whether or not you like that, is a matter of taste. Only downsides: the pre-packed sandwiches which aren’t worth the money you pay for it and the music is a bit loud, but even that, doesn’t seem to be really disturbing.

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